Art Students Donate Artwork to Fairfax CASA

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Matt Geske

At the end of our Spring 2017 semester, students from our Visual Art classes volunteered to donate some of their created artwork to the local organization Fairfax CASA, which advocates for children who find themselves in the court system. The donated pieces of art have been framed and displayed in the Fairfax CASA office, where the children they assist can see them and be inspired.

Emily Rea, Supervisor for Fairfax CASA – which stands for Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates – said, “I just wanted to send along photos of the artwork which has finally all been framed! It looks beautiful in our office and we are very thankful. Thank you and the kids again!” She collaborated with staff member Candy Neukam from the Academy office to make the artwork donation possible. And our art students were more than happy to contribute!

Fairfax CASA Mission Statement
The mission of Fairfax CASA is to advocate for the best interests of each abused and neglected child referred by the Fairfax County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court through the promotion and support of quality volunteer representation.
We seek to ensure that each child’s needs are identified and addressed with the goal of living in a safe and permanent home. As permitted by our legislative charter, we also provide assistance to youths entering adulthood who have been referred to the CASA program by the Court, up to the age of 21.

The Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program was founded in 1989 by a group of community-minded Fairfax County citizens responding to a request for a CASA program from the Fairfax County Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court (Court). Since that time, Fairfax CASA has operated as a 501(c)(3) public charity accepting support from individuals, corporations, and public funds to ensure that children who are victims of abuse and neglect are placed in safe and permanent homes as quickly as possible. This purpose is accomplished by recruiting, training, and supervising community volunteers to serve as special advocates for children whose families have been cited for abuse and neglect by the Court. It is the driving goal of Fairfax CASA to ensure that the best interests of all children referred by a judge are represented before the Court. Since its founding, Fairfax CASA has recruited and trained nearly 1,800 CASA volunteers to provide this critical service to more than 6,700 children who have been referred by the Court.

We hope to be able to provide inspiration and hope again in the future through artwork created by our very own students!